Kearny soccer girls under scrutiny now as coach puts together his starting lineup

Vinny Almeida believes the best way to see what a team is made of is to be tested against top-notch competition.

The Kearny High School girls soccer coach, who has led the Kardinals to back-to-back county titles, will be watching them as they take on some talented opponents in scrimmages next weekend to get a clearer picture of his team’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Kardinals will play Immaculate Heart Academy on Friday, Mahwah High School on Saturday and Archbishop Spalding, a Maryland high school that was ranked No. 4 in the nation at one point last season, on Sunday.

“They are some very good teams and it’s going to be tough for us. But at least we get to see what kids can play under serious pressure,” Almeida said at a practice at Franklin School in Kearny yesterday.

“We’re not so concerned about winning, but every girl here will play a significant amount of time to see what they can do under pressure. We’ll watch for who gets discouraged when things don’t go their way, who has creativity, who has fight, and that’ll help us to hopefully mold a team for the rest of the season.”

Last season, the Kardinals finished 15-3-2 and were ousted by Hunterdon Central in the first round of NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 tournament on penalty kicks.

Almeida hopes the upcoming scrimmages will help settle who moves into the key starting roles vacated by graduated players.

“We have a lot of seniors and freshmen, or first-year varsity players, but there are a couple of girls looking to hop in and help right away,” Almeida said.

Two players who certainly have their spots secure on this team are two-time captain and senior sweeper Ashley Amadeo, as well as the reigning Hudson County Player of the Year, senior forward Stephanie Gomes. She tallied 24 goals and five assists last season.

“I think we look really good, might actually look better than last year,” Amadeo said. “We have some good freshmen coming in that can complete our team and fill in some spots.”

Almeida also expects to lean on established veterans such as junior midfielder Katie O’Neill, senior defender Alana Howell and senior midfielder Kaitlyn Lima.

Two young players Almeida already has his eye on are sophomore midfielder/forward Nicole Kelly and freshman midfielder/defender Amanda Eustice.

Perhaps most important is the issue of starting goalkeeper, which Almeida called the team’s “biggest question mark.” With the graduation of Fernanda Lois, several younger and less experienced players are vying for the assignment.

“We will be fighting for a county championship and trying to put it all together in the state tournament against a tough team like Hunterdon Central or Franklin that maybe doesn’t have the greatest record in a tough conference but is still a very good team,” Almeida said.

“Hopefully we can come out on top losing on penalty kicks last season was difficult, but that’s what happens in state tournaments. A little bit of luck makes a difference we didn’t have it last year, and hopefully we have it this year.”